


Inseparable

by melianthus



Series: Water's sweet but blood is thicker [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Gen, Jily stuff won't be until much later, Marauders' Era, OC has a major role, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, hella canon divergent, ship for Josephine is still undecided, starts in first year
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 01:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12900594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melianthus/pseuds/melianthus
Summary: Fleamont Potter created the SleekEazy's Hair Potion and quadrupled his family fortune, giving himself and his wife a comfortable life, but they were unfulfilled and could not bear a child. They'd given up hope when his wife Euphemia became pregnant with twins. She gave birth to a boy and a girl, James and Josephine Potter.The two were as close as twins could be. Rarely would anyone see one without the other. They were loved and doted on by their parents, spoiled but still goodhearted.Now they head off to Hogwarts. How will their inseparable bond fare against new friends and enemies, new hobbies, and interests?





	Inseparable

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea for this OC rattling in my brain for years, and would you look at that, I'm finally doing something with it.  
> I obviously don't own anything except for my OC.

“James, dear, please do something with your hair.” Mrs. Potter told her son as she helped her daughter braid her equally unruly hair. Josephine winced slightly as her mother tightened the braids, watching her brother pass by, dragging his trunk behind him.

“But Mum,” James whined, dropping his trunk by the door and reaching a hand up to run through his hair.

“Yeah, James, do you really want to go to Hogwarts with that birdsnest on your head?” Josephine teased, only to have James stick his tongue out at her. She returned the gesture, scrunching up her nose.

“Go grab your trunk now, Josie.” Their mother said, tying off Josephine’s braid and picking up the brush. “James, come here.”

Josephine hopped to her feet to let her brother take her place. She ran off to her room to fetch her trunk while her mother brushed James’s hair. When she returned, she found Mrs. Potter still trying to flatten his hair, if only slightly.

“Maybe you should use some of dad’s SleekEazy hair potion.” She suggested as she dropped her trunk besides James’s. 

Almost immediately after the suggestion, Euphemia’s eyes lit up at the same time James bolted to his feet. His hands went up to cover his hair almost protectively.

“No, that stuff makes my hair feel heavy and weird.” He frowned.

“You’re just sensitive about your hair.” Josie countered, rolling her eyes.

Before James could reply, footsteps sounded as their father came down the stairs, pocket watch in his hand. 

“We best get going if you kids don’t want to miss the train.” Fleamont said, closing his pocket watch and reaching over to ruffle James’s hair, earning a smile from the boy. “Ready?”

James looked over at Josephine, sharing a smile and a nod with his twin sister. Each of them grabbed their luggage while their parents picked up a cage each, one containing an african grass owl and the other a madagascar red owl. 

“Ready!” The twins said together.

* * *

 

“Bye mum! Bye dad!”

After a length farewell with their parents, James and Josephine finally pulled away from their father’s hugs and mother’s kisses.

“Don’t forget to write!” Euphemia reminded them for the hundredth time, waving at them as her husband tried to discreetly dab his eyes with his handkerchief.

Climbing onto the train, each of them grabbed onto their trunks and began their search for a compartment. It wasn’t long before Josephine found a nearly empty one, the only person inside was a sleeping boy who seemed to be their age. 

“Over here, Jay.” She called over her shoulder. Sliding the door, she walked in quietly, followed by James. Josephine turned and pressed a finger to her lips. “He’s asleep.” She told him. “Help me with this.” She added, nodding down to her trunk. 

Nodding, James released his trunk just inside the compartment door and helped Josephine lift her trunk and slide it into the cupboard overhead. Once hers was put, they did the same with his and sat down, Josephine beside the other boy and James across from them.

“D’you reckon he’s a first year like us?” Josie asked quietly, glancing at the sandy haired boy. 

“Might be. He looks kinda small.” James shrugged. “More importantly, do you think the Honeydukes Trolley will come by soon? I’m starving.”

Josephine rolled her eyes but laughed softly. Before she could reply, the compartment door slid open and a black haired boy looked between them. 

“Sorry. Everywhere else is full.” He hesitated, an unspoken question lingering among the three of them. 

“No worries. You can sit with us.” James told him with a grin. The newcomer didn’t smile back, but it looked as if he almost did. He sat beside James but remained quiet. 

Not long after, another girl joined them, not speaking a word to any of them as she sat at the window seat beside Josephine. James exchanged a glance with his sister and just received a shrug.

In almost no time at all, James talked on and on to the boy beside him, not caring much if he responded or not, but was pleasantly surprised when he did engage with him. Josephine tuned them out, not for lack of interest, but because her attention was drawn away when she heard a sniffle from beside her.

Turning towards the red haired girl, Josie scooted slightly closer. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a handkerchief and held it out to the crying girl. 

“Hey, are you alright?” She whispered, not wanting to draw the boys’ attention to them, knowing full well that James was often useless when he was around a crying girl. The redhead looked up and Josephine was instantly captivated by her emerald green, tear-filled eyes.

The girl shook her head, swallowing hard and accepting the handkerchief. She wiped at her eyes and sniffled again. 

“Are you homesick already? We’ve only just left the station.” Josie joked slightly, hoping to lighten the mood. It was a tactic James often used with her, making jokes to get her to laugh instead of cry. To her amazement, it worked on people other than herself. The other girl gave a very slight laugh, shaking her head again.

“No, I-” She paused, her smile falling as she dropped her gaze to the handkerchief in her hand. “My sister hates me for going to Hogwarts.” She mumbled.

Josephine frowned. That seemed rather silly in her opinion. “She’ll get her turn to come when she’s eleven.” She reasoned. Another head shake from the redhead.

“She’s older than me. She can’t come. I’m the only witch in my family.” She said it almost hesitantly.

“Oh…” Josephine understood now. Before she could respond, the compartment slid open once again and another boy walked in, immediately sitting across from the redheaded girl and paying no mind to anyone else. Josephine took that as her cue to retreat back into whatever it was James was saying.

Of course, as soon as the new boy mentioned Slytherin, James had to butt into their conversation.

“Slytherin? Who wants to be in slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” James asked, nudging the boy beside him. He didn’t smile.

“My whole family have been in Slytherin.” He told them, though his tone sounded rather dejected. 

Josie pursed her lips to keep herself from making any distasteful expressions. James, on the other hand, didn’t hide his shock.

“Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!”

This time the boy grinned. “Maybe I’ll break the tradition. Where are you headed, if you’ve got the choice?”

James grinned wider, lifting an invisible sword and striking a pose. “Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!”

“Just like our dad!” Josie supplied, a matching grin on her own lips.

The boy by the window made a noise between a scoff and a snort. Immediately, James and Josephine turned to him, smiles gone and replaced with glares.

“Got a problem with that?” Josephine challenged him.

“No,” He said, sneering at them. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy-”

“Where’re you hoping to go seeing as you’re neither?” Asked the other boy. At that, both Josephine and James laughed, though James did so much louder. 

The redheaded girl glared at them all and stood from her seat. “C’mon Severus, let’s find another compartment.” She dropped the handkerchief Josie had lent her on her seat and walked out with the boy, Severus, in tow.

James was still laughing, but stopped long enough to try to trip Severus as he passed.

“See ya, Snivellus!”

* * *

 

“I’m Sirius.”

“James Potter, and that’s my sister, Josie.”

“Oi, I can introduce myself. And it’s Josephine!” She stuck her tongue out at them, eliciting a laugh from the boys.

“Who’s that?” Sirius asked, nodding to the boy beside Josephine. He was still asleep, miraculously with all the noise James made even when he tried to be quiet.

“Haven’t the foggiest.” Josephine shrugged. 

“Lupin. RJ Lupin.” James said matter of factly. His sister raised an eyebrow. 

“You’re joking, right? You don’t know his name.” 

“No, but it’s written on his trunk.” He replied, pointing over her head. Both Josephine and Sirius followed his finger to the modest trunk over their heads. Josephine had to lean forward to see, but sure enough the initials RJ Lupin were on the trunk.

“Of course it is.” Josephine sighed, ignoring the grins on the boys’ faces.

Halfway into the train ride, Lupin woke up to find himself surrounded by three black haired kids and a large stash of sweets. Another round of introductions and he confirmed himself to be Remus Lupin.

When Josephine offered him something from the pile of sweets, he meekly asked if there was any chocolate. She dug out a chocolate frog and handed it to him.

“Oi, Josie.” James called. She looked up to see him holding a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. Instantly, a smile tugged at her lips. “Ready?”

“For what?” Remus asked, eyebrows furrowed. Sirius looked equally confused and intrigued. 

“James and I play a game to see gets the worst flavor. Whoever chooses the worst flavor wins.”

“What does the winner get?” Sirius asked, leaning forward. 

“Anything.” James grinned, shaking the box towards Josephine.

“Usually a favor or dare that the other can’t refuse. Once I had to wash all of James’s socks.” She shuddered, reaching into the box and grabbing a greenish colored bean. “You two want in?” She asked.

“No thanks.” Remus said immediately. 

“I’m in!” Sirius grinned, taking the box and picking out his bean.

“Alright, on three.” James told them. “One… two…”

All three of them popped their candy into their mouth. Biting down, James made a face and after a second or two ended up coughing. Sirius scrunched up his nose and opened his mouth, letting the bean roll off his tongue. Josephine instantly covered her mouth and gagged as the taste spread over her tongue.

Quickly, she spit it out and whined. “Ew, ew, ew!” She grabbed another candy to try to get rid of the taste. “What’d you two get?”

“Sardines.” Sirius replied with his tongue still out.

“Pepper.” James groaned, also taking something sweeter and safer to override the taste. A smug look crossed Josephine’s face.

“I win! I got vomit.” She announced triumphantly, placing her hands on her hips. All three boys stared at her.

“You did not!” James challenged. Josephine bent forward and retrieved the bean she’d spit out.

“You wanna try it?” She asked, holding it out. She laughed when James leaned away from it, shaking his head. “Now, if I’m not mistaken, you both owe me something.” She grinned.

James and Sirius exchanged a look, Sirius’s curious eyes meeting James’s wary ones. “Alright, lay it on us then.”

“I dare you both to take a handful of Every Flavor Beans and eat them all at once. And actually eat and swallow.” Josephine paused. “Unless you’re about to vomit, I suppose.” 

She glanced over to see the incredulous look on Remus's face, probably glad he hadn't joined in on the game. Sirius had a similar expression, though he seemed to be hoping and waiting for her to say she was joking. She wasn't though, and James knew that as he sighed in resignation and took his handful of beans, handing the box to Sirius.

James took a breath to brace himself and ate his handful, keeping his hand over his mouth. His eyes closed and his face twisted with disgust, but he continued to chew, pausing occasionally to gag before finally swallowing it down. Josephine leaned over and patted his knee.

“Good work, Jay.” She smiled, turning to Sirius. “Your turn, Black.”

Straightening up with a newfound determination, whether from having watched James do it or from Josephine’s reminder. He grabbed his handful and shoved the beans into his mouth. His hands dropped to grip the cushion of the seat as he chewed, lips pursed tightly. Finally, he swallowed and slumped in his seat, looking almost a little green.

There was a long pause of silence and Sirius glanced at the other three nervously. Josephine broke the silence as she laughed, which James joined. Even Remus smiled.

“Well done, mate.” James nudged Sirius.

“Oh, Merlin, I was sure you were going to be sick!” Josephine said, holding her hand over her heart. “Congratulations, Black. You just survived your first Potter Bean Challenge!”

James cheered as both Remus and Josephine clapped. Sirius looked around at them and grinned, relaxing completely for the first time since he’d stepped into the compartment.

* * *

 

The rest of the train ride was filled with chatter and games. Both twins had a few games stashed in their trunks. They all played a few games of exploding snap and finished off their sweets until someone came by to let them know they’d been arriving at the castle soon.

Josephine promptly kicked the boys out so she could change into her robes. Once done, she stepped out to let them change as well. She noticed the red haired girl from before walk by, and politely, Josie smiled and waved at her. She glanced at her and turned her head and kept walking. Josephine’s smile fell into a frown, turning to enter the compartment once more when she heard the door open behind her.

She rejoined the boys, sitting down as they talked about the castle. James once again was talking about how he was sure he’d be a Gryffindor like Dad. 

The train came to a stop and everyone got off. The older students went off on carriages while the first years stayed behind.

“Firs’ years! This way!” A loud voice called. The crowded began to move over towards the large figure holding a lantern by the lake. 

Instinctively, Josephine looked around for her brother, only to feel a hand on her own and find him beside her in a moment. Smiling at James, they followed the crowd to the boats. They climbed into a boat together. 

James leaned over the side, peering into the dark water as they floated along. “Reckon there’s actually a giant squid in here? Mum said it’s a myth, but Dad seemed to know it was there.”

“Want to find out?” Josie gave him a little shove, enough to sway the boat and startle him before pulling him back inside. 

James let out a small scream when she pushed him, falling back into the boat beside her. One hand clutched his chest as his heart pounded and the other hand held onto his glasses. They heard laughing from the boat beside theirs. Looking over, they found Sirius in the boat he shared with Remus, swaying it as he laughed at James’s reaction while Remus held onto the boat to keep it from tipping over.

* * *

 

The walk and the wait for the Sorting Ceremony was agonisingly long, but finally they were entering the Great Hall. Most were looking up at the enchanted ceiling, others stared down at their feet. The group of first years pooled around the steps leading to where Professor McGonagall had placed the hat on a stool.

“When I call your name, you will sit on the stool and put on the hat to be sorted.” McGonagall announced, opening her scroll and beginning to call students up.

“Black, Sirius.”

Josephine had to crane her neck to see Sirius walking up to the stool. The hat was dropped on his head and silence followed. She could hear a few murmurs around her. Josephine turned to her brother. 

“Wonder what it’s telling him…” She mused. James shrugged, unable to give a proper response when the hat finally shouted out,

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Sirius looked conflicted as he slid off the stool and headed to the Gryffindor table.

“Evans, Lillian.”

The redhead girl walked up to the stool. Now Josephine knew her name. The girl intrigued her, but she seemed a bit rude.

“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat yelled again. 

More students were called up and sorted. Remus also went to Gryffindor. A girl named Alice was off to Hufflepuff, and another girl went to Ravenclaw. Josephine stopped paying much attention until James was called up, which meant she’d be next.

James glanced at his twin and squeezed her hand before going up. He tripped over the last step and stumbled. Josie covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh. She could see him blushing in embarrassment. The hat was on his head for half a minute before declaring him a Gryffindor. His grin could light up the whole hall as he ran over to sit by Sirius.

“Potter, Josephine.”

She took a deep breath. At least she’d do better than James as long as she didn’t trip. The thought made her smile on her way up. Sitting down, she gripped the sides of the stool as McGonagall placed the hat on her head.

“Hmm, I see.” A soft voice spoke in her head. “Loyal, very loyal, and patient. But you’re daring and fiery. You’ve got nerves of steel. I can see it. I’ll put you in…. GRYFFINDOR!”

Josephine couldn’t help but release the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She handed the hat back to McGonagall with a smile and took her seat across from James.

A few more kids were left to be sorted. Pettigrew joined them at the Gryffindor table, and that Snape kid was sent to Slytherin. No surprise there.

Dumbledore gave a short speech and the feast began.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I focused a lot on Sirius? I have no excuse other than I love the boy. He deserves everything. And so does Remus, and James. (Peter who? lol)  
> Also, fight me about Lily's full name being Lillian. I know it's just Lily when she's called up, but I like the idea of her name being Lillian.  
> This chapter was also very long because it was a lot of background and stage setting, I think. I don't know how long the next chapter will be, I haven't written it yet.  
> I also don't plan to write out the entirety of every single year. So there will be a lot of time skips, so this fic might not be as long as you'd think.  
> It's 2 am, I honestly don't know what I'm doing


End file.
